Dear Natalie,
You are three months old, and just like that you've moved out of the "fourth trimester" and into full fledged babyhood. They were not joking when they said everything seems to go faster with the second one-- time is moving fast.
Your third month was a little quieter than your first two-- no visitors and no travel-- but we've had lots of fun enjoying family time at home, including a hike on the Steiner Ranch trails, lots of walks to the park, a "camping cookout" in the back yard, a day trip down to San Antonio for William's first birthday, a long walk around Town Lake in the beautiful fall weather the day you turned 12 weeks old, and lots of much needed one on one time on Monday and Wednesday mornings when Nicholas is in preschool.
This month, you also managed to keep us on our toes with a slew of feeding challenges. After receiving your shots at your two month appointment, you launched into a full fledged feeding strike, refusing to eat for hours at a time for the better part of a week. For the previous two months, I had suspected you had a case of reflux and after following up with your doctor about it several times, we finally started you on medicine at the end of the first week of your third month. After about a day or two, you started to come around and we were able to get our nursing relationship back on track.
For most of the rest of the month, you refused to drink from a bottle (even when I was away one time for 5-6 hours for a job interview), but then right before you turned three months we went through another nursing strike and you only wanted a bottle. I pumped as often as I could to try to keep my supply up and tried every trick in the book, including pumping before feeding to stimulate an immediate let down for you; feeding you while standing, walking, and rocking; feeding while lying down next to you or hovering above you; and feeding you while you slept. Finally I was able to coax you back to regular nursing, but not without shedding some blood, sweat, and tears.
Toward the end of this ordeal (on October 14th), I stuck my finger in your mouth to help soothe you and was shocked to discover a tooth! I could see the little white tip of your bottom right center tooth just poking through the gum. You were extra fussy for the prior week or so, chewing on your fingers constantly, but it had never occurred to me that you could be teething at just two and a half months old. That turned out to be the explanation for the feeding strike and fortunately you had passed the worst of the teething, so we have been able to get your feedings back on track.
While month three posed plenty of feeding challenges, you have been an absolute rock star sleeper. You slept through the night for three consecutive nights, from about 9pm-6am, beginning on September 19th. Since then, you have continued to sleep through the night about five or six nights a week. We gradually moved your bedtime earlier and now you go down somewhere between 8-8:30pm and you sleep until 5-6am. Then you will wake up, eat, and go back to sleep until 8-9am. You have also been really consistent with your naps. If we're home in the mornings, you will sleep for an hour and a half to two hours (beginning around 10am). If we're on the go, running errands or at the park, you are content to just sleep in your carseat. Most afternoons I have been able to sync up your nap with Nicholas' nap (thank you to both of you), and you'll sleep for two to three hours.
This month you also discovered your hands and feet. You figured out how to grasp your feet, one in each hand, and roll side to side in a perfect "happy baby" pose. It's pretty adorable. You are probably not far from rolling over from your back to your stomach. When you're not busy playing with your feet, you love to inspect your fingers, clenching and unclenching your fists, and moving them slowly and carefully as you examine them. You concentrate hard, staring intently at your fingers, as you slowly move them towards your mouth. Sometimes your eyes cross briefly from all the effort. You don't always find your target, but your aim is getting better by the day. Your favorite way to soothe yourself is to suck on a few fingers, preferably the two middle fingers on your right hand, while grasping your foot in your mouth. I think all of this finger sucking has also been your coping mechanism during your surprising early teething.
Despite some of our feeding challenges this month, you are still such a happy baby. You grin at us all the time, and we are so close to real giggles. I've said this in my prior monthly letters, but your disposition is just so sweet. When I nurse you before bed and you begin to drift off, you close your eyes and give me one final big grin before falling completely asleep. I also think you're an old soul-- I can see a quiet wisdom in your eyes and I have no doubt you'll teach me many things over the coming years.
I am cherishing every day I get to spend with you, ladybug. I don't like seeing time move so quickly, but I know I am really savoring my time with you and enjoying you as a baby. I'm in no rush to get to the next milestone, but my one consolation is that you just seem to get cuter and cuter with each passing day, and I know that the best is yet to come.
I love you with my whole heart,
Mommy
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